By Sarah Hannan

A total of 2,870 Public Health Inspectors (PHIs) will be deployed on assisting the Election Commission (EC) with monitoring work pertaining to the adherence to election day-related health guidelines, The Morning learnt. PHI Union Secretary M. Balasooriya, speaking to The Morning, noted: “The PHIs deployed to carry out monitoring work at quarantine centres, areas where self-quarantine is observed, hospitals, ports, and airports, and for duties at the local government authorities, will not be used for election-related monitoring work. Our task is to monitor as to whether the voters adhere to the health guidelines that are communicated when they come to vote.” The voters are allowed to bring their own pen and the PHIs will observe whether they are wearing face masks, sanitising their hands when entering the polling stations and then exiting the polling stations, and the PHIs will also make sure they do not litter in the area. Meanwhile, the EC has reached out to a cross section of health service professionals for assistance in ensuring that the health guidelines would be observed at polling stations and poll tabulation centres. Speaking to The Morning, Election Secretariat Director General Saman Sri Rathnayake noted: "We are involving not only PHIs but also nurses, midwives, and other health service professionals for the task of reading the temperature at tabulation centres. We will not be taking a temperature reading at the polling station, but we will ask these health professionals to assist us in ensuring that the voters are following the health guidelines accordingly." Rathnayake also said that instructions have been communicated to all electoral districts to ensure that voters, candidates, and polling centre officials wear face masks, and are asked to sanitise their hands, bring their own pens, and maintain physical distance when casting votes.